New Garmin System Brings Chrysler Into the Premium Navigation Game

Photo: Garmin

Call it the Street View Effect. Google’s voyeuristic, photorealistic mapping has changed the way we remotely view the world. And it’s also made navigation easier by allowing users to get a better sense of their bearings by being able to see photos of pannable buildings and destinations that an animated map can’t match. So far, only the Mercedes-Benz mbrace2 and Audi Connect bring Street View to the dashboard, and Google’s Panaramio will be available in the latest BMW ConnectedDrive platform.

Garmin recently added Street View to its Navigon brand iPhone app, and now the company is providing the next best thing for the navigation systems of several 2013 Chrysler and Dodge vehicles via what it calls “realistic 3D views of buildings and key landmarks throughout major U.S. cities.” It also adds topographic map data to display terrain landscape elevations for when a driver is outside of the city and up in the hills. Additionally, the new Garmin system includes the company’s photoReal Junction View that displays road signs and intersections along the route “with photographic detail” to help drivers make sure they’re in the correct lane and don’t blow past an exit. According to Garmin, the latest version of Junction View covers more than 60,000 U.S. intersections, 25 times more than previously available.

Another feature of the new Garmin system for Chrysler vehicles, myTrends, stores frequent routes based on driving habits and anticipates them on certain days and at certain times so that the user doesn’t have to enter the destination. In theory, after a few weeks the system will know that you have, say, a 2 p.m. tee time at the local links every Saturday so that you don’t have to enter the address each time. Of course, by then you should know the way there, but the system also automatically displays the estimated driving time using the ITS trafficTrends feature, which recommends routes based on historical traffic data and recurring trends at any given time of day.

A second display in the instrument panel behind the steering wheel shows the next maneuver using Junction View, and for hardcore Mopar fans the system has customized vehicle icons that approximate the look of a Chrysler or Dodge vehicle. The new Garmin system is part of the Chrysler Uconnect 8.4N infotainment system available as either standard equipment or an option for the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Journey, Charger and Dart.

With in-dash navigation systems quickly becoming antiquated by nav apps, Garmin spokesman John-Till Broer told Wired that the new Garmin system for Chrysler vehicles attempts to improve “the core of the navigation experience” by being easier to use and getting drivers to their destination faster by providing better orientation using 3D graphics. But is it enough to get buyers to pay $495 for the Chrysler Uconnect 8.4N infotainment system – along with having to add another $1,000-plus in bundled option – to get it in the entry-level 2013 Dart SXT? If Chrysler’s marketing holds water, it certainly has potential.

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